Abstract
We have used the narrow transition in the ultraviolet (uv) to laser cool and magneto-optically trap (MOT) Li atoms. Laser cooling of lithium is usually performed on the (D2) transition, and temperatures of 300 K are typically achieved. The linewidth of the uv transition is seven times narrower than the D2 line, resulting in lower laser cooling temperatures. We demonstrate that a MOT operating on the uv transition reaches temperatures as low as 59 K. Furthermore, we find that the light shift of the uv transition in an optical dipole trap at 1070 nm is small and blueshifted, facilitating efficient loading from the uv MOT. Evaporative cooling of a two spin-state mixture of Li in the optical trap produces a quantum degenerate Fermi gas with atoms in a total cycle time of only 11 s.
- Received 23 September 2011
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.84.061406
©2011 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Laser Cooling Tuned to the UV
Published 21 December 2011
An advance in laser cooling fermionic atoms in an optical trap brings experimentalists closer to reaching a quantum magnetic phase of atoms.
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